Rock Me Gently Turns 50 Today

It’s okay.  You can admit it.  You secretly love this song.  I know I do.  (smile)

Was I there when it was released?  Um, I refuse to answer that question.  But you can’t deny the popularity of the 70’s hit.  And it’s got staying power.  The Canadian classic is still being featured in movies and shows.  The song has been featured on shows such as “Ray Donovan” and “Sex Education” and in commercials for the Jeep Liberty.

The song was the biggest hit for Montreal’s Andy Kim, reaching number one on charts both here in Canada and in the United States in 1974.  The record would go on to sell more than three million copies around the world.

Pretty impressive for a song that almost never got made.

It’s true.  Andy Kim had to release the song on his own label after being turned down by pretty much every record label and producer he went to.  Even radio was reluctant at first, but once the song started getting played on the airwaves, people loved it and it went on to become a monster hit.  Pretty much sweet revenge for Andy.   He showed all those music industry folks what they missed.

I admit, I love this song and his other hit Sugar Sugar and when he came to Sarnia a few years ago for the Chris Hadfield celebration in Centennial Park I was more than a little excited.  Such a huge event for Sarnia and I will never forget being there and hearing him sing these songs.

Let’s focus on how much we love the song, and stop saying it was 50 years ago. (smile) That just makes us feel old. (smile)

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan